Last Updated on 29 September 2023 by Cycloscope
A buying guide to choosing the best bicycle rollers for your indoor bike training
Parabolic, traditional, crowned, smart, cheap, budget-friendly, top of gamma
Until a few days ago, I never thought I would’ve ever written a buying guide for the best bike rollers. Cycling indoors is really not my thing but it has become increasingly popular, and there are various tools and equipment available to help cyclists get the most out of their indoor training sessions.
One such tool is the bike roller, which offers a unique set of advantages that may make it an appealing choice for cyclists looking to enhance their indoor training experience.
So when Mother Nature or your government’s safety measures decide that you can’t go riding, fear not, keep on riding and find out what are the best bike rollers for your needs and budget. So that when you’ll be able to get outside again, you’ll find your legs haven’t missed a beat.
And not only that, bike rollers simulate this real-world experience by requiring the rider to actively balance the bike. Unlike stationary trainers that hold the bike in place, rollers allow the bike to move freely beneath you. This demands a higher level of concentration and engagement, which can translate to improved balance and technique when you return to outdoor riding.
This article describes our favorite bike rollers for all budgets, these are not to be confused with indoor turbo trainers, which are more expensive but with a wider range of possibilities, follow the link if you want to know more about turbo trainers.
After our opinion on the best bike rollers for 2023, you’ll find an updated buying guide and a FAQ section to help you make the right choice.
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How we compile our gear guides: during the almost 10 years of cycloscope.net our team personally tested dozens of similar pieces of gear. For what we can't test personally, we involve other people in the cycling community to give their feedback and opinion about gear they have used. Our decade-long experience in bicycle touring enables us to find the key cons and pros of every product we mention.
The 5 Best Cycling Rollers Indoor Trainers in a Nutshell
- Tacx Roller Galaxia – Best Value for Money
- Minoura Folding Rollers w. Step Guard – Best Portable Bike Roller for Traveling
- ELITE Arion Mag Parabolic Rollers – Great Quality Rollers for Less than 350$
- Omnium Over Drive – Best Bike Rollers for Beginners/Pre-Race Warm-Up
- Elite Nero Smart B+ FE-C Rollers – Best Smart Cycling Rollers
The 5 Best Bike Rollers Compared and Reviewed
1. Garmin TacX Roller Galaxia
Best Value for Money
About the brand: TacX started in 1957 as a bike and repair shop in Wassenaar, Netherlands. In ‘69 they opened a small factory manufacturing cycling rollers, indoor bike trainers, and bike carriers for cars. Later on, bottles and tools were added to their assortment. TacX has been recently acquired by Garmin.,
Tacx Roller Galaxia Review
The Tacx Roller Galaxia are conical rollers, meaning they are tapered inward, keeping wheels centered for optimal stability. The patented swing system rocks back and forth, absorbing acceleration and deceleration.
They feature a convenient foldable design (31.5” x 19.7” x 5.31” when folded), with a maximum footprint of 53” by 19.7” when extended. The diameter is approximately 4″ and 3.5″ near the center.
The front roller spins equally for extra stability and speed tracking, those are entirely mechanical bike rollers, no power required, durable, and maintenance-free.
Thanks to its oscillating part, although at a first glance it may seem otherwise, the Tracx Galaxy cycling rollers provide outstanding stability on the bike. This swinging makes the rolls move harmonically with the cyclist and his/her pedaling, allowing great freedom of movement without risking falling down.
The kinetic energy generated during acceleration makes the roll moves forward, and when speed decreases the roller leans back automatically. Stability is the obsession of Tacx on its rolls, and with the galaxy they have reached high levels in this regard.
Pros:
- Very Stable
- Good Value for Money at less than 300$
Cons:
- A Bit Noisy
- Max Wheelbase 1100mm
2. Minoura MoZ Folding Trainer Rollers with Step Guard
Best Portable Bike Roller for Traveling
About the brand: Minoura is a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in all sorts of bicycle accessories, even a tablet holder! Spare parts are available.
Minoura MoZ Cycle Roller Review
Minoura manufactures a complete gamma of bike rollers that can certainly be mentioned among the best cycling rollers out there.
We decided to feature the Moz, among the others (have a look at the link above), because of their compact size and light weight-tag that makes it ideal for cyclists who don’t want to miss a training session, even on vacation.
The Minoura MoZ alloy frame folds indeed in a very compact way, at only 55x18cm (20×7″) and weighs only 6kg! The reduced weight might compromise a bit the stability but it really doesn’t get lighter and smaller than this.
Japanese precision is another selling point of these bike rollers, 80mm x 420mm alloy drums with cartridge bearings provide a smooth, and quiet ride – it doesn’t fear rust – while the urethane belt has been proven to be very durable.
The adjustable length makes it usable for bicycles between 950mm and 1090mm in wheelbase, the step guard helps beginners hop on and off the bike.
Pros:
- Compact and Lightweight
- Made of Alloy (durable and rust-free)
- Step Guard
Cons:
- A Bit Noisy
- Not Super-Stable
3. ELITE Arion Mag Parabolic Folding Rollers
Great Quality Rollers for Less than 350$
About the Brand: Elite is an Italian brand, leader in indoor cycling trainers manufacturing. Specialized in R&D, production, and marketing of home trainers, bottles, and bottle cages since 1979.
ELITE Arion Mag Roller Review
ELITE Arion Mag Rollers feature neodymium magnets integrated into smooth, anti-static plastic rollers. offering three magnetic resistance levels provide an easy transition from no resistance for easy recovery rides or warm-ups, to low and high resistance for tougher home workouts.
The parabolic-shaped drums offer good ride control, pushing the bike towards the center of the rollers.
By using the Misuro B+ sensor (not included) the ARION MAG becomes compatible with ELITE’s My E-Training (1-month free subscription). This manages the training session by monitoring power, cadence, heart rate, speed, time, and distance data.
Moreover, it makes it compatible with other indoor cycling platforms (which usually require a paid subscription), such as TrainerRoad, The Sufferfest, Kinomap, and many more. This is how you can range from traditional training sessions to a more complete experience, where training, gaming, and social combine into one solution.
The Elite Arion Mag features a platform construction that simplifies mounting and dismounting and an integrated handle for easier transport. At about 10kg, they are not as ultralight as the Minoura but the entire setup is foldable, so you can travel with the Arion Mag or store it with ease.
If the Elite Arion Mag are out of your budget have a look at this cheaper version for about 200$. If you like the brand but want something more hi-end, keep on reading.
Pros:
- 3 Resistance Level
- Silent
- Durable
Cons:
- You have to get off the bike in order to change the resistance
4. Omnium Over Drive – Portable Progressive Resistance Trainer
About the Brand: Feedback Sports is a small family brand from Colorado, specializing in bike storage, rollers, and toolkits, including workshop bike stands. They support several no-profit organizations.
Omnium Zero-Drive Rollers Review
Something in-between a trainer and a bike roller, the Omnium Zero Drive is great for beginners and competitive cyclists alike.
The adaptable fork-mount design makes it stable like a standard trainer with the minimal resistance of traditional rollers. It accepts standard QR, 12×100, 15×100 & 15×110 (Boost) thru-axles. No risks of falling down, at the expense of some real-ride feeling.
The Omnium Zero-Drive is optimized for high cadence pre-race warm-up, with no additional resistance it feels similar to rollers and performs like a trainer. It is foldable and compact, weighs only 13.3lbs (6.03kg), and can be stored in a small drawer and even in an overhead bin of a plane, which makes it ideal for travel.
Aluminum drums and a red anodized frame can accommodate wheelbases up to 1348mm with the optional extender. Includes heavy-duty tote bag for transport and storage and no tools are required for assembly/storage. The noise is very limited.
Pros:
- Stable and Great for Beginners
- Silent
- Light and Compact
Cons:
- Limited Use with No Resistance
- Doesn’t Feel Like Real Riding
5. Elite Nero Smart B+ FE-C Rollers
About the Brand: Elite is an Italian brand, leader in indoor cycling trainers manufacturing. Specialized in R&D, production, and marketing of home trainers, water bottles, and bottle cages since 1979.
> Check All Their Products Here
Elite Nero Smart B+ FE-C Rollers
We already mentioned one Elite product, but those guys really rock the roller game so we decided to include one more.
The Elite Nero is a smart, interactive bike roller conceived to fullfill the needs of the geekiest cyclists. Total interaction with the app, software, and devices with ANT+ Sensors (FE-C trainers) and Bluetooth Smart protocol, allows you to completely monitor the workout.
The Magnetic Resistance is electronically controlled with slope simulations up to 6%, no need to get off the bike to adjust, just keep riding and control it through the app (includes 12 months free subscription to the Elite My Entraining App). There are also training sessions in-within the app where the resistance automatically changes periodically to simulate a varied terrain. A very advanced system that is easy to use and user-friendly.
This smart roller by Elite is compatible with both road and mountain bikes wheels. The front roller is adjustable with 10 different positions to allow perfect compatibility with the frame of the bike you’re using, it fits wheelbases from 944mm to 1124mm.
Being a smart trainer, the Elite Nero needs of course to be plugged into an electrical socket. The rollers are ultra-silent and feature a foldable design for convenient storage.
Pros:
- App-controlled Resistance
- ANT+ Sensors Compatible
- Silent
Cons:
- Pricey
- Needs Electricity
How To Choose The Best Bike Rollers For Indoor Cycling
What are Bike Rollers?
Bike rollers consist usually of a rectangular frame (adjustable to fit your bike length) and three rollers, they are designed to ride your bike with both wheels on and get a realistic, challenging ride.
Riding on cycling rollers though is not super-easy, it takes a while to get accustomed to stationary riding, the learning curve is quite steep and you might fall at the beginning, that’s why getting rollers with a step-guard or something hybrid like the Omnium Zero-Drive (check below) might be a good idea if you never tried cycling on rollers before.
Rollers are notorious for requiring more of a learning curve than traditional trainers (which are also more expensive), the trade-off for how realistic they feel.
They are a great way to improve bike balance and handling skills, increase pedal efficiency, and top-end cadence/speed, activate muscles and just keep fit in general.
Rollers can be used with any kind of bike whose wheelbase (the distance between the rear and front axle) fits the roller in question, be sure to measure your bike before buying your new cycling rollers.
Keep in mind that, the wider the tire the louder the noise, when training with a mountain bike for example, because of the high friction of mountain bike tires, there might be some annoying noise.
Want more? Check our comparison article about the
7 Best Turbo Trainers – From Cheap to Smart
Conical Shaped Rollers (Parabolic) VS Crowned Rollers VS Cylindrical Rollers
Traditional bike rollers have a cylindrical shape, compared to the ones mentioned below, those are a bit harder to get the hang of, since there’s no additional force keeping you wheel centered.
There are then two more schools of thought in bike rollers, conical rollers (also called parabolic) and crowned rollers. These two designs make the same claim yet they are opposite, they both should draw the bike towards the center of the roller, thus increasing the stability.
Crowned rollers work by directing the wheel toward the highest point (the center). This happens because there is more surface on the uphill side of the tire and therefore it can grip more. The same as if you accidentally rub your tire against a curb, you hop up it.
Secondly, on rollers, the larger the diameter the less rolling resistance there is, due to the tire having less deformation. Since crowned rollers have a larger center the tire naturally goes toward the path of least resistance.
The concept of crowned pulleys, while actually pretty new to rollers, is well established in other belt-driven equipment, such as bend-saws.
Conical rollers obtain the same results through a steep angle driving the wheel towards the center thanks to gravity. The slope encourages the wheel to the center of the roller, creating stability.
Frequently asked questions about indoor bike rollers
Are Parabolic Rollers better than Traditional Ones?
Parabolic or crowned rollers are easier for beginners, drawing your wheel towards the center helps to balance on your bike.
Are Rollers Good for Training?
Cycling rollers are a great way to improve bike balance and handling skills, increase pedal efficiency, cadence, speed, activate muscles, and just keep fit in general.
Are Bike Rollers Better than Trainers?
Cycling trainers offer higher resistance compared to rollers. Trainers are more stable but rollers feel more similar to a real ride. Unless you are using smart rollers then you’ll have way less training data when using rollers instead of a trainer. Trainers are more expensive than rollers.
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